Aria Black and the Battle for Hogwarts

My Friends the Carrows

Classes seem to go particularly slow that night. The fourth year Gryffindor class is exhausting. They keep asking stupid questions, it's like they haven't been here all year! Ugh!

When my sixth year class comes in, I teach them about the constellations, Sirius, Orion, Little Dipper, Big Dipper. They don't seem interested, until I threaten them with a long essay.

It is my night to patrol the corridors, looking for Harry. Snape assigns people this task, and this is the first time he's given it to me.

I'm strolling at my leisure, when I hear a strangled cry coming from Amycus Carrow's office. I run to the sixth floor, where Peeves lies in his hammock.

"Peeves!" I hiss. He stirs, eyes fluttering open. "Peeves, I need your help. The Carrows are torturing someone and I need you to distract them. Please, Peeves!"

He looks at me. "Peevesie the Poltergeist, back in the action! I'll be right on it!"

Peeves swoops up and down the stairs to reach the office, me (with a Disillusionment charm on me) panting after him.

Peeves slips through the oak door, and I hear a crash, followed by a scream. Amycus and Alecto race out the door after Peeves, leaving the student alone in their office.

I enter the room to find not one, but two bloody students. A little girl, probably only a first year, and Michael Corner. I kneel down in front of the little girl.

"Hi," I tell her. "I'm going to help you. What's your name?"

"S-s-Sadie." The child whimpers.

I gently pick her up and turn to Corner. "You'll have to walk, but you can lean on my shoulder."

Corner grunts, and puts his hand on my shoulder. I lead both of them out of the office, and to the Room of Requirement. Kandy, my favorite house elf, is at my service when I snap my fingers. She begins tending to their wounds, while I ask Corner what happened.

"Sadie was chained up. She told me that she told the Carrows that her mother was on the run, and that she was proud of her. So I began to unchain her, and the Carrows caught me. They made Sadie watch while they tortured me. It was horrible. We'd been there for about five minutes when you came in. Thanks." He says.

"Do you want a hug?" I ask him.

Michael Corner is not the kind of person you just go up and hug. You have to gain his trust first, and I really hope I have, because boy does he need a hug.

He shakes his head. "I think I'll go up to the common room and read some of my book."

"This isn't healthy, Corner." I tell him.

He avoids my gaze and stalks off.

I sigh. If Michael Corner doesn't get some help from a friend soon, I'll have to help him. And I am horrible at helping people.

***

Minerva and I are in her office, talking about Astronomy and her days at Hogwarts.

"I loved Transfiguration because it was tough." She recalled. "You actually had to think, and no blithering idiot could saunter in and just do everything perfectly. You have to work for it."

I smile at her. "We're you an Astronomy person?"

Minerva chuckles as if what I've just said is ludicrous. "Oh, no, no no no. I hated the class! Back then the teacher was a fool! If you or Aurora had taught my class, I'd have been more tolerant of the subject, I dare say."

"I'd better go." I tell her. "I have lessons to plan. The fifth years still get my lectures on OWLS because I haven't made a plan yet."

Minerva chuckles again. "Go on, then dearie. Don't let me hold you up."

I smile and set off down the corridor. I'm just passing the portrait of the fruit bowl when my wrist is yanked and I find myself in an empty classroom.

Amycus and Alecto Carrow stand in front of me, ugly faces shining in grimy pride. They pin me to the wall and breathe their smelly breath in my face.

"Listen, Black!" Alecto hisses. "We know what you're up to."

Amycus smiles, baring his disgusting yellow teeth. "We know you've been helping the group of rebels here, and that you freed Corner and the little brat, and that you have been fighting against us from the beginning! Snape doesn't believe us, were you a star potions student or something?"

I work hard to keep my face from contorting in confusion. Snape doesn't believe them? Doesn't he love any chance to punish me?

I remain silent, knowing anything I say will be twisted into weapons against me.

"What, little Black afraid of us?" Alecto cackles.

I take a deep breath through my mouth, trying to block out their attempts to frighten me.

"Maybe she wants the same thing we did for Corner, huh?" Amycus asks. "Wanna talk now, pretty?"

I close my eyes and plead for it to be over so I can silently cuss them out and imagine killing them.

"A little Crucio to mess up the pretty little girl's pretty little face?" Alecto suggests.

Amycus smiles with glee. "Yes, Alecto, good idea."

"May I do the honors?" She asks him.

He nods.

"Crucio."

This isn't the first time I've had this dreadful curse sent on me, but I hope it will be the last.

I bite my tongue so hard I'm convinced there's a hole in it. But I can't cry out. They smile with delight at my anguish.

I'm beginning to think it will never end, when Severus Snape's cold voice says from the doorway. "Don't you have papers to grade, Amycus, Alecto?"

They stop casting the spell, and I gulp. I thrust myself upward, ignoring the pain.

The Carrows trudge away.

I turn to face Snape's straight face. "Black, why did you let those people torture you? Isn't the point of the Gryffindor to be brave and reckless? What did you do to provoke it?"

My eyes do widen this time, and it's a moment before I regain the ability to speak. "I was just walking down the corridors to my chambers, Professor. The Carrows ambushed me and threatened me before torturing me."

Snape actually seems mildly interested in the subject. "And you didn't do anything to stand up to them?"

"Anything I said would've been twisted to make me look like a horrible traitor." I tell him.

Snape almost smiles. "You're more like a Slytherin than I thought."